Trump administration considers plan to eliminate CDC's HIV prevention division

The Trump administration is considering a plan to eliminate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s division focused on HIV prevention and potentially move its responsibilities over to another department within the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a source familiar with the plan.

The plan to eliminate the CDC's Division on HIV Prevention is still in the "very, very preliminary stages," the source said, and no final call has been made yet.

A memo circling among HIV prevention advocates — who began hearing rumors of the possible move earlier Tuesday — claimed that the plan could be implemented within "48 hours," but the source said it would likely "be a little longer than that."

HIV prevention advocates warned the drastic change could force states to bear the burden on prevention programs and could cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars if the virus resurges.

There are approximately 1.1 to 1.2 million people who are highly vulnerable to acquiring HIV in the U.S., according to Jesse Milan, president and CEO of AIDS United, a nonprofit group.

“It would be devastating,” Milan said. "The work is important because every new HIV transmission results in a person having a lifetime cost related to being HIV positive."

The CDC’s division is responsible for tracking HIV infections across the U.S., conducting research — in some cases with outside groups — on HIV transmission, and promoting testing and prevention, such as the use of the HIV prevention pill, known as PrEP.

There has been significant progress against new HIV infections in the U.S., with rates declining most significantly among younger people, ages 13 to 24. If the CDC does pull back from supporting prevention programs, experts worry that progress could be reversed. In 2022, there were 31,800 estimated new HIV infections in the U.S., according to government data.

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Under the administration's possible plan to get rid of the department, the CDC's HIV prevention work could move over to another program at HHS, possibly under the agency's Health Resources and Services Administration, which does its own HIV work under The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the source said.

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Milan was skeptical of the plan to move the CDC’s HIV work to the Health Resources and Services Administration, noting that its work primarily deals with people with HIV, not prevention.

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Officials haven't yet figured out the logistics, the source said, including staffing and what financial resources would be devoted to it.

Another potential plan, the source said, that would cut as much as $700 million from the CDC HIV division also hasn't yet been decided.

In an emailed statement, Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for HHS, said "no final decision on streamlining CDC's HIV Prevention Division has been made."

"HHS is following the Administration’s guidance and taking a careful look at all divisions to see where there is overlap that could be streamlined to support the President’s broader efforts to restructure the federal government," Nixon said. "This is to ensure that HHS better serves the American people at the highest and most efficient standard."

The CDC’s HIV prevention division dates back to the early 1980s, as the agency responded to the emerging AIDS epidemic. 

Public health experts and advocates pushed back on the move to possibly eliminate the division.

"The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program does not fill all the HIV gaps," said Harold Phillips, deputy director for programs at NMAC, an advocacy group. "It only serves those with an HIV diagnosis."

In January, federal health officials scrubbed a swath of HIV-related content from the CDC’s website as part of the Trump’s administration’s effort to remove all context related to gender identity.